Regular readers of FH are aware of my fascination with windows and reflection within photography. My interest is both visual and metaphorical. Visually, windows provide a second vantage point in which to view a model or subject. Although identical, when reflected through a reflection, there are also subtle and deceptive differences between what is, and what is seen. We only need to look in a mirror to know that what we see is but one perspective of what is actually there.
I first introduced FH readers to Male Beauty by bengie last December in a Christmas themed post entitled Red Hats & Flannel. In that piece, I loved how Cheshire based Photographer Bengie described himself as just a country guy who happens to love photography, art and the male body. That country setting Bengie inhabits is not just where he lives, but also a theme and the location for much of his work.
If you peruse Benji's portfolio, you will see many of his images are shot on the farm. The house, the meadows and country side near by. The barn and by the woodpile and fences that surround the area. I love that Benji shoots so many of the beautiful men he shoots in similar settings, with constant and fixed locations. When choosing my next set of images to feature, I was drawn to Bengie's images in front of and near by the patio French doors.
The beauty of the male form looks particularly alluring in this patio setting. There is something romantic about French doors, especially when they act as the visual gateway to a quiet farm in the English countryside. Although the setting is static, each model changes slightly how the doors are presented. Their bodies and poses, personalities and fashion, (if any) and the angles Bengie uses make each image distinctive. I also love that that although each model poses outside, there reflection remains safely inside behind the the glass doors.
Bengie also allows the viewer a sneak peak at what is front of his models. Their reflections allow us see a just a bit of what they are seeing in front of them, all the while keeping any hint of the man behind the camera... discretely hidden.
Check out more of Bengie's work, and more of each of the models presented here on Male Beauty by bengie on ModelMayhem HERE:
